RJ staffers honored for work in Best of the West journalism competition

The Las Vegas Review-Journal won a half-dozen regional journalism awards, including top honors for best headline and sports photography.

The annual Best of the West awards encompass newspapers, magazines and news websites in 14 western states.

“This is terrific recognition for our very talented staff,” Review-Journal Executive Editor Glenn Cook said. “I’m especially pleased to see our visuals team come away with so many honors. They work exceptionally hard to make our storytelling great on multiple levels.”

George Riggle, the newspaper’s features editor and RJ Magazine managing editor, was praised for his clever wording in the headline in a story about Las Vegas’ 70th anniversary as a top wedding destination: “Paint the town Wed.”

“The pun on ‘Paint the town red’ evokes the excitement of a last-minute decision to get married and the party atmosphere Vegas has also become famous for,” judge Jan Arzoorman wrote. “The page designer also gets credit for using a red font on some of the text.”

Riggle’s headline placed above a pair of entrees submitted by the LA Times.

Photographer Ellen Schmidt documented the Las Vegas Aces’ WNBA championship run last season.

Schmidt, who bested visual artists from the Dallas Morning News and the Orange County Register, snapped a photo of forward A’ja Wilson reacting to a foul during a playoff game.

The entry was judged by Grace Hollars, visual journalist for the Indianapolis Star.

“For me, this image rises above the others because of the timing of the photo and the perfect moment of the yell,” Hollars said. “It’s the strange magic of sports photography.”

Added Hollars: “There are a lot of images that are good for the day, but this one is a winner because of how difficult it is to grab this kind of image. I’ve never seen anything like it, nor have I ever created anything like this. It’s a ‘once in a career’ type of photo.”

Photographer L.E. Baskow earned second-place honors in news photography for photos made during the funeral of Tabatha Tozzi, a homicide victim.

Baskow’s photos were judged by Zach Boyden-Holmes, photo editor for the Des Moines Register.

“You don’t often see images from a funeral made up close with a wide angle lens. This photographer was willing to put themself into an uncomfortable position and compose a frame with a lot going on during an emotional service,” Boyden-Holmes wrote. “As the eye moves around the frame, we see several individual moments of grief unfold in this expertly composed and powerful image.”

Review-Journal visual artists Wes Rand and Tony Morales took first and second place in the “Informational Graphic” category for artwork portraying how toilet water is processed into drinking water, and a graphic outlining Formula 1’s Las Vegas Grand Prix track on the Strip.

“Educational and easy to follow flow chart about flow,” wrote Melanie Hitchcock, managing editor for New Hampshire Union Leader, about the sewer water treatment depiction. “Graphics are great for helping people understand something complicated. This fits the bill.”

Rand and Morales also earned third-place recognition in the “Online Presentation” award for their work in the “Sphere & Now” special section about the spherical destination on the Strip.

The entry was judged by Joe Mutascio, digital operations manager for the Indianapolis Star.

“This is excellent online storytelling. From the beautiful video on the home page to the explainer graphics and draggable photos, this engages and informs the reader in unique ways,” wrote Mutascio. “Tons of content but laid out very cleanly, easy to navigate and keeps your attention.”

The judge added: “Covering such a high-tech venue in a traditional way wouldn’t do it justice, and this team was clearly up to the task.”

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.